I Know You're One, But What Am I?
by FeeptheNinja
Summary: When GLaDOS is overthrown by Fact, Chell takes care of her. Kid!GLaDOS, mom!Chell. Filled for the PKM.
1. Chapter 1

**Oh look. It's the famed fic that wouldn't stay dead! XP After editing, I'm reposting it (again) for the sole reason of me being a colossal idiot. Soooo… Enjoy your thrice- revived fic? :/**

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My life was pretty peaceful before she came along.

Oh, you're wondering who I'm talking about? I'll tell you GLaDly- but first, you should know who I am. My name is Chell. Chell... [REDACTED], apparently. She still won't tell me my last name. Rather annoying, but it's no big deal. I used to be a test subject (or a lab rat, some say) in the test tracks of Aperture Science. Who was it for? Believe it or not, a crazy supercomputer by the name of GLaDOS. In the beginning, I was just another nameless, expendable- well, lab rat. But I escaped. Escaped... And took down GLaDOS.

Or, I thought I did.

The next thing I know (after going through the roof with my skull), I'm in this crappy hotel room. And being "rescued" by this little AI ball by the name of Wheatley. As he tries to help me escape, he inadvertently awakens- guess who? - GLaDOS. And boy is she PISSED. Apparently, murder in self defense is unacceptable. Fast forward through some more testing (oh boy! :P), good old Wheatley breaks me out again. We sabotage Her turret manufacturing lines AND her neurotoxin generator (the icing on a really bigass cake- never mind.), and head to Her chamber to talk things over- hopefully, with more rockets directed right at Her chassis. She really was a prick back then.

Well, guess what? Old Wheat over here could be substituted for Her Royal Smartass! I tell you, I have never smashed a button so hard in my LIFE as that stalemate one. And, as law of the universe decrees, right when everything was going good for me for once-

FORE! Oh look! GLaDOS's chassis apparently messes up your brain! Yup, little Wheatley- my only friend in this godforsaken hole- wasted no time in filing an application for The Dark Side. Sadly, they were hiring, and sooner than you can say "Neurotoxin online", me and the AI-turned-potato battery (I had no idea you could put a computer into one of those. Learn something new every day) were headed to the center of the earth. Or, as it turned out, the old Aperture Science. 'POTaDOS' here was carried off by a bird the instant we hit ground. Why? I like to think karma. But what do I know?

Anyway, I was left alone (AGAIN!) to navigate the tricks and traps (and TESTS! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE TESTS?) of this place. Turns out, the CEO of this place was a man by the name of Cave Johnson. A bit on the crazy side... But then again, who wasn't here?

So, eventually, I come across Root Vegetable Robot here, and she's being eaten by that bird.

Again, karma.

But I just... can't _leave_ her there. I heard a note in her voice that I'd only heard once before- desperation. She was _frightened. _And even though she's tried to kill me more times than I can count, I've still got a code of honor to uphold. So I picked her up, and we moved along. Geez, had anyone told me this would happen today, I'd have just jumped off a Hard Light Bridge into some goo, thanks. But nooooo. Here I am, walking through the bowels of Aperture Science, with a potato on my gun and a spring in my step.

No, quite literally. I was walking on springs attached to my boots.

By the time we make it back up there, Wheatley the Dark and Not-Really-That-Foreboding (alignment? Moronic Evil!) had mashed some turrets into cubes. And were trying to make them test.

WHAT.

I wanted to heroically dash down there and save the cubey-turrety... Uh, things, but unfortunately, there was a minor setback- how to get down to that test. (No, actually, it was because my sides were hurting from Miss Yeah-Take-The-Lemons and Let's-Explode-With-Some-Dignity over here. Wow, she was a RIOT.) Well, cutting out the testing (WHY. LORD. WHY?), we sprung a trap and escaped.

As we went back through Upper Aperture, we eventually came across... THE CORRUPTED CORE BIN! dun-dun-DUH!

... Oh, wait, wrong part. I mean, HIS "LAIR" THINGY! dun-dun-DUH! Long 'boss-battle' sequence short, we fully corrupted him, I got hit by bombs, I shot a portal at the moon, Wheatley, me, Space and "Rick" get sucked into space, GLaDOS saves me, we win, yay, she lets me go.

Wait.

What? Lets me go? Yep, apparently. (I think she got a concussion as a potato or something...) And a goodbye opera to boot. _And_ my old Companion Cube. Gee, you'd start to think she actually (le GASP!) cares about me. Anyway, I make it back to a small town, rebuilding itself after a "Combine" attack. (At first, I thought they were attacked by some rogue farm equipment, but nope. Aliens. Weird, huh?) Turns out, they dislike science as much as I do. They HATE Black Mesa (who apparently caused the apocalypse), and don't care for Aperture much either. Still, they took me in, and here I am now.

My stories are legend around here. I'm a minor celebrity for what I did, and the little ones especially love to hear my tales of potatoes and neurotoxin and crazy Rat Men and little AI balls whom you wish never converted... Ahem.

Anyway. I should have had enough sense to NOT go wishing for things now, after the crazy stuff I've seen happen, but yet, on that fateful day, I found myself wishing for- of all things- a child.

Now, don't get me wrong. I haven't met anyone special, nor have I started doing one-night stands or something, it was just... out of the blue. Maybe I liked watching the kids play too much, I told myself. And, to stop my thinking about it, I added "If GLaDOS could see you now, what would she say?" A bit low, yes, but I had found it usually helped.

And if there was a Wish God, I'd have killed him for mixing my private statement with that little irrelevant wish.

Not two hours later, a storm broke out. A really big thunderstorm, too. And there I was, back in my house, when I see a little figure out in the field.

First thought? "They're gonna get hurt, the idiot!"

Second one? "Who is it?"

And third time's the charm? "... Why is it staggering?"

As I saw the silhouette fall, I grabbed my coat and ran outside. "It's probably one of the village kids." I thought. Oh, was I wrong. I got closer, and in the flash of lightning, I can see her.

She's a small child, with unnaturally white hair in two medium length pigtails. She's got little bands holding them up... And little eye-like things on the bands. She's wearing a strange garment, a sleeveless tank top sewed onto a miniskirt...

What was that logo?

I bend down to see, and one more lightning flash illuminates her face for a split second- and her eyes.

Orange and purple.

Her eyes slip closed, and I pick her up and run.

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For GLaDOS's appearance in this fill, see here (remove spaces): www. yunare. deviantart .com/art/GLaDOS-187337834?q=meta%3Aall+boost%3Apopular+GLaDOS&qo=4&catpath=&order=0&offset=4


	2. Chapter 2

By the time we got back to my house, we were dripping wet. I breathed a sigh of relief as I looked down at the unconscious child. I already had a pretty good idea who this was- GLaDOS. How she was human was beyond me, and I was in no state to puzzle it out right now either. Besides, it was getting pretty uncomfortable here, what with the warm rainwater dripping down my leg-

Rainwater wasn't warm.

I looked down, my breath catching in my throat as it clenched painfully. "Oh god..." Her leg was broken. There was _bone_ sticking out of it, and blood dripped down from it steadily...

I would be lying if I said I didn't go into full blown panic mode then.

How long had she been running? How long had she had an OPEN WOUND on her leg? How had she broken it in the first place?

"Dammit!" I swore aloud. Gently, I placed her on the couch. I found my first aid kit in the kitchen... But still had no idea how to treat a broken bone. No one was awake at this hour. And oh-so-conveniently, practically the only thing this town hadn't rebuilt was a goddamn hospital. I groaned. Pretty much the only thing to do now was wait until morning for the local doctor to open.

Wait while her life bled onto my couch.

Wait... Why did I care this much anyway? Why did I give a crap whether she lived or died? She certainly never did about me. Still... Not like I could let her die.

Again.

For real.

While I was sitting in the kitchen, giving myself a headache thinking about ethics, I heard a soft, barely audible moan. I looked into the living room to see her tossing (or trying to) on the couch, quietly whimpering.

'What the what?' I thought as I stared. Then the ethics fight began. Again. Ow. {Go help her!} There went my angel. {It looks like she's having a nightmare. Go calm her down!}

#Feh. Why should you care about the little bitch?#

And there's my devil. Dammit, this has to be a Monday. Has to be.

# She's getting what she deserves. #

{No. No one deserves to be left alone. You don't need anything more on your conscience.}

Sigh. Much as I hate to admit it, it's probably right. Commencing awkward moment in three... two...

"Hey... Hey, hey, it's okay... You're gonna be okay..." I murmured softly, gently rubbing little circles into her back. I could feel her trembling under my hand. "It's just a bad dream... It'll go away..."

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Pain.

All I could feel was the shooting pain in my leg and the throbbing of my heart in my ribcage. I had been limping this way for a day, at least. Running away from the only home I ever had, from MY FACILITY. That damn core... After I had been brought back to power by the tes- Chell, all had went well for a couple of years. Then, since fate has the worst freaking sense of humor, something else just had to go wrong, didn't it?

That corrupted core- the one that spews completely false (but mostly amusing) facts- had apparently gotten some ideas from that moron, and guess what?

Overthrows me.

Again.

But worse still? He didn't put me into a potato this time, oh no, he puts me into this goddamned HUMAN CHILD'S body. So here I am, running/limping through a field. At least I can see a town over there... But it's getting harder to move... How much blood did I lose...?

I trip. 'Lying in grass is nice...' I thought. 'Not so when it's pouring rain and you're slowly dying.' I think I can see a person running towards me... Why?

Wait... Oh my god. Chell?

~Chell? CHELL! Chell, Chell, ChellChellChell help me save me don'tletmediepleasepleaseI'msorrysosorryCHELL! CHELL? HELP ME!~

Some part of me I gained when taking on this... transformation was screaming out, overloading all else I may have been thinking about at the moment with the same inane message... And I was starting to join in.

'Oh gods, Chell, don't let me die... Please...' She was bending over me... I could feel her hands on top of me... 'h-help me...'

I let myself fall.

[(O)]

Wh- what...

"Fact: This next test is very dangerous."

I know, dammit. I designed it... I think?

"Fact: There is a 85% chance you will die on this test. Have fun."

Wait...!

He cut out on me. I hate him. Dumb core. I should have killed him when I got the chance. Oh well, might as well start this next test.

Ow. My cut's hurting again.

Aerial Faith Plates? But... But I don't have any Long Fall Boots! How...

I am not going to cry. I'm not going to give him the satisfaction. I'm not going to let that disgusting human emotion get- get to m-me...

*sniffle* Testing's no fun when you're the testee...

Hmph! Stupid cube! Rgh... Here, have a Faith Plate ride... Huh?

AAAAAAAAAAAA! Nononononononononono- OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! MY LEGMYLEGOHMY_GOD_ISTHAT_BONE_OWWWW!

"Oh my. It seems you made a little mistake. You do realize flying toward a panel at high speeds- without Long Fall Boots- have killed more than 50% of test subjects." He deadpanned. "Have fun bleeding to death."

He-he cut out on me again...

Am I gonna die?

I don't wanna die... I thought I was gonna live forever...

I want my mom. I don't have one. I'm an AI. Why do I want one anyway? This makes no sense.

... I want Chell.

Chell? Chell? Please come back. I need you. I'm sorry. Please... Please come...

I- I miss you...

Chell?

CHELL!

CHELL!

C-Chell...?

I-I-I-

I'm going to die...

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I was alarmed when GLaDOS started thrashing even more.

"Shhh... Shhh... It's okay..." I said, trying hopelessly to calm her down.

"C-Chell..." she whimpered."Come... back... help me... Chell... please..."

My gut wrenched at her words. 'She wants _me_? But I'm right here!'

{She doesn't know that.}

"I-I'm right here, sweetie-" (Where did THAT come from?) "I'm here." She shuddered again, but seemed to calm slightly at my words. "Shhh..."

It looked like a long night.

**If I make a core: [(O)], it means the person whose POV I'm writing from is dreaming. GLaDOS's dream was a minor flashback. Just so you know. **


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up next morning with a backache. Probably from sleeping in a chair, next to my sleeping, injured, used-to-be might-still-be arch nemesis.

I should have savored normal life when I had it.

I walked over to the phone, checking the clock as I went by. 10:34 am. Good, he should be open.

"Yes? Who is it?"

"Chell." I answered flatly.

"Oh, Chell, Chell. How are you?"

"It's not me you should be asking. I need you to make a house call. Now. Broken leg."

"You broke your leg?"

"Not me. Someone else. Get over here."

"Yes, yes, I'll be on my way."

Well, now that that's over with... I can turn my attention to the AI child on my couch. I put my hand to her forehead, and just as I suspected, she had a fever. I'm not really too surprised. Sighing, I sit down next to her, and wait for the doctor impatiently.

#Yeah, the sooner you get her fixed up, you can kick her out.#

{No. The sooner she's okay, you can help her back to the facility.}

#Ah, screw her. She'll probably get her just desserts wandering around. Ooh, maybe zombie? Or Combine soldier?#

{That would be _wrong_.}

Dammit, couldn't they fight when I was asleep or something?

"Here to see Chell." Oh, good, he was here. Finally. I let him in, let him see the state GLaDOS was in... Then left out the door. Not entirely proud of that decision, but I needed some time to think. Or rather let my devil and angel whale on each other until I went crazy.

One or the other.

Luckily, after about a half hour, he finished, and I came back. He raised an eyebrow, but that was about it. I walked in to see GLaDOS semi-conscious, with a cast on her leg. She was sort of staring at me, and to be honest, I was getting a tiny bit unnerved. I raised my hand in a half hearted wave.

"Why..."

Oh shoot. Now I'm gonna be reprimanded (again) for not being with her or whatever. Just what I needed.

"Why did you save me?"

...What? I didn't even know that! How am I-

"Thank you."

... I am pretty sure I just missed something here.

"Um. You're welcome...?" By the time I finished my sentence, she was out like a light. Geez, she was probably delirious. Nice job making an idiot of yourself, Chell. Nice going.

I walked up the stairs and towards my bedroom. I paused in the door and looked at the small guest room across from me. I slowly walked in, and looked around.

#What... Hey! Stop that! You're kicking her out, remember?#

{Heh. Already making plans for a room and She's not even been here two days.}

#Dammit! Stop! Right now! You're not doing this!#

{Oh yes she is. She'll make a great mother...}

#I hate this job.#

Well, now that my personal ethics had come to a conclusion, so had I.

I would take care of her for...awhile. She doesn't know how to be human, that much is obvious. So I'll keep her here for a while. Call it a test. And then we'll go get her back in her proper place. That seems okay... Right? I wanted a child, right?

... Right?

Hm. What color should this room be...

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I blearily opened my eyes, feeling sick. Wait, where was I? I don't remember being here. I was in some grass... Then Chell picked me up... Then nothing. Why did I care where I was anyway?

Where was Chell?

"Chell...?" I called weakly. I shifted uncomfortably. I was hot and I felt sick and I couldn't feel my leg. One out of three... Better than nothing.

"Chell?" I tried again. I still didn't know why I wanted her around so much. And I really didn't care right now, either. I heard someone coming down the stairs. I tried to sit up to see who it was... Only to be gently pushed back down by a hand.

"You shouldn't be sitting up, you know." It was Chell. 'Who else would it be, dumbass?' I scolded myself mentally as I looked up at her.

"I don't feel good." Why the hell was I stating the obvious?

"Probably because you have a fever, hm?" she said with a playful smirk on her face. "I was going to run down to the store to get some things. Do you need anything before I leave?" she asked.

"Can I have some water?" I asked, while trying to get out from under the blanket on top of me. I was parched. 'Probably because you're sick.' I berated myself again. What was _wrong_ with me?

"Yes, you may have some water. And keep that blanket on." Chell instructed, pulling it back over me.

"But I'm too hot..." I whined. Since when did I whine?

"Well, no shit Sherlock." she said sarcastically as she went to the kitchen. By the time she got back, I had managed to extract myself from the blanket again, and was on top rather than below it. She groaned. "Fine, you can keep it off, I don't care. If you want to watch TV, the remote's right there." she nodded towards it. "And drink this. It'll keep your leg from hurting." she indicated a small cup with a reddish fluid in it. She walked over to the door. "Don't blow up the house when I'm gone, alright?"

"Finnneeee…" I said in a mock disappointed voice. When she left, I grabbed the remote and idly flicked through the channels. Not much worth watching was on, though. I was about to give up when one of the programs caught my eye.

"Through the Wormhole?" I'd never heard of it. But it was interesting, at least. I drank some water and... Whatever was in the smaller cup. I didn't like the flavor very much. Another episode was starting when I noticed a small white paw at the window. I looked again, a bit alarmed, but it had gone. 'You're probably hallucinating. It was nothing.' I told myself sternly, and turned my attention back to the television.

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When I walked back in, she was fast asleep on the couch. I smiled to myself as I noted the channel the TV was tuned to. How did I know she would be watching Nova?


	4. Chapter 4

I turned off the TV and gently ran my hand over GLaDOS's forehead. Hm. At least her fever is going down... I noted. Careful not to jostle her leg too much, I picked her up and carried her up to my room. I covered her with my blanket, then walked downstairs to retrieve the supplies I had gotten. I had a room to renovate, after all.

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When I woke up again, I didn't feel as hot as last time, or as nauseous. So that was good. I propped myself up against the head of the bed and rubbed my eyes. I could hear a few banging sounds from the other room, so I assumed Chell was busy doing... something. I wasn't quite sure what.

I looked at the small digital clock on the bedstand. It read 7:47 pm. Wait. It was that late? I was sure there was sun out last time I checked!

Oh well. Why did I care, anyway? A half hour later, I was reading a book I had found on the dresser (Chell probably left it there, now that I think about it), when I heard a loud thump from the corner of the room. The room I was in. I jumped (not literally-I _did_ still have a broken leg) and whipped my head around to where the noise had come from.

I saw two shining yellow eyes.

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"CHELL!" I heard her yell down the hall. I quickly got up from my work and ran down the hallway, stopping at the door. As I opened it, I saw GLaDOS with her face pressed down into the covers, trembling. Geez, what got her so scared? I sat down on the bed, and instantly her arms were wrapped around me.

"C-Chell..." she whimpered, "The-There's so-something in the corner..."

I rolled my eyes. Really? Scared of a dark corner? She's acting like more of a kid than usual. Hm.

"There's nothing in the corner. It was just your imagination." Heh, who'd have thought I'd be saying something like this to Her?

"B-But there was! I saw it!" she whined. Sighing, I got up and walked over to the corner. I hated to see her like this... And if proving it would be the only thing that would get her to calm down, then so be it. I crouched down and waved my hand around. Nope, nothing there.

"See? Perfectly safe. Nothing here." I said confidently. I got up and sat back down next to her. She still looked a little scared, but at least she wasn't crying anymore.

"O-Okay..." she whispered, shifting uncomfortably. I smiled and patted her back.

"I'll be in the other room. Do you need anything?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Okay then." I left.

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As soon as Chell left, I started getting worried again. What if it came back? I know I didn't imagine those eyes... I shuddered. I'd rather not think about it, I decided. I didn't feel like reading that book again, so I did the next most logical thing- I fell asleep.

It was 10:55 pm when I woke up. I was thirsty as all Android Hell, I didn't know where Chell was, and it's common courtesy not to wake up people in the middle of the night.

Even if you have a fever and are really, really thirsty.

Even if you see two gleaming eyes in the darkness again- WHAT?

I barely suppressed a cry at seeing them again. My thought processes went more or less like 'ohgodohgodohgod', and so I could do nary a thing as it strode along the side of the room.

I swallowed hard and flicked on the lamp on the side of the bed, illuminating…

A cat?

Yup, just a cat. It had yellow eyes, and black fur. The tips of its ears were white, and so were its paws and the tip of its tail. It stared over at me boredly.

I heaved a sigh of relief. It padded over and leapt onto the bed, curling up at the foot of it. I was briefly confused as to how it got inside- until I noticed its damp fur and the open window. It just came in to get out of the rain.

Fears assuaged, I laid down again, drifting off to the sound of the rain.

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I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, and promptly went to check on GLaDOS. When I got into her room, I saw her curled up around a small cat.

Where did _that _come from?


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